System and method for controlling online awards activity

ABSTRACT

A system and method for controlling awards for gaming activity is provided. The system includes a computer that receives an activation code and a notification that a particular game has been accessed. In response, the system validates the activation code and an activated award. The effect of the activation varies between examples and may include such effects as making a game payout accessible to the activator, increasing a payout of a game or altering game play.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/290,701, entitled “METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR CONDUCTING A GAME OF CHANCE,” filed on Dec. 29, 2009,which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The technical field relates generally to electronic games of chance andmethods and systems for conducting game play and controlling onlineawards activity.

2. Background Discussion

Gaming establishments (e.g., casino, lottery or other lawful physical oronline gaming establishments) have a desire to keep their playersengaged and interested in their brand. Player loyalty clubs, “member'sonly” clubs, or similar programs are a common method used by gamingestablishments to attempt to achieve this goal. Bonus play games andreveal entertainment games are another method that may be used by somegaming establishments to increase participation and brand interaction.These games are typically played remotely from the gaming establishmentwith the intention of causing the player to visit (or return to) thegaming establishment.

While player clubs can be a valuable tool for gaming establishments, theclubs typically are not very engaging, and they do not provide anadequate incentive for players to regularly interact with the playerclub or the gaming establishment, especially regarding interactionsbeyond the actual act of game playing. Similarly, lottery gamestypically are not very interactive or engaging, and they often do notgenerate a level of excitement or interest necessary to promoteprolonged interaction with the gaming establishment or its brand. Evenwith regard to bonus play and predetermined games, which can beconstrained by gaming regulation, certain elements of gambling styledgames may not be provided in order to legally achieve the broadestpossible market. These constraints can reduce entertainment value forparticular players.

There are many different types of games that involve the issuance of alottery ticket to play a game of chance. Lottery tickets are soldthrough retailers using machines referred to as point of sale (POS)terminals. These tickets are generally printed at the POS terminal, andare usually issued for some lottery drawing to be performed at a latertime. Examples of these types of lottery games of chance includetraditional state lottery drawings and multi-state lottery drawings(e.g., PowerBall). Another type of lottery ticket, referred to in theart as instant lottery, includes a pre-printed scratch-type lotteryticket which includes a latex or similar coating that is scratched offby a purchaser (a player), revealing one or more game indicia thatindicate whether or not the player won the game or series of games asindicated on the ticket. The indication is generally “instant” in thatthe player knows when he scratches off the ticket coating whether or nothe won the game.

In addition, there are many online games that can be played using acomputer system coupled to a communication network (e.g., the Internet).These games may include traditional games of chance, games of skill, andcasino-type games, among others. Some systems combine lottery-type gamesand online games. In one such system, a lottery ticket is sold to aplayer, who then plays a further game using a computer system. In such agame system, the ticket sold to a player includes a code printed on theticket which correlates to a game seed stored in a computer system uponwhich a computer game is played. The computer game determines theencoded game seed, and this game seed is mapped to a series ofpredetermined game states that lead to a predetermined outcome. That is,the code stored on the ticket includes the outcome. In another type ofsystem, the code stored on the ticket is an encoded form of the lotteryresult, which is then revealed to the player at the end of play of anonline game.

SUMMARY

It is realized that improved methods are required to provide playerswith multiple incentives and multiple opportunities to interact with agaming establishment or its brand to help gaming establishments increasecustomer loyalty and participation. These methods can also be used togather important information about their players. One should appreciatethat information gathering and player loyalty/participation aspects neednot be constrained to gaming establishments and may include almost anyestablishment intending to market a product or service.

Through the increased interaction, increased loyalty, and the gatheredinformation, the gaming establishment, for example, can advance manygoals such as providing an improved player experience, furtherincreasing player interaction and loyalty, increasing play, ormotivating the player to take some action desired by the gamingestablishment. It is realized that achieving increased player interestin the gaming experience itself can be used as an effective tool toincrease play or motivate the player to take some action.

Access codes for bonus play games and reveal entertainment games areimplemented to allow access to the games and to be associated with apredetermined outcome. Aspects utilize an activation code that is usedto verify eligibility and activate the award at a later point in thegaming process. This feature provides additional flexibility to thegaming operator while increasing the excitement and enjoyment of thegame for the player.

According to one example, a unique identifier may be provided to play agame (e.g., an online computer-based game). Also, an activation code maybe provided to a player through one or more distribution methods. Theplayer may use the activation code to enable any award associated withthe game. This activation code may be tied to a particular uniqueidentifier that may be specific to the particular game (e.g., associatedwith a particular issued ticket having the unique identifier). However,the activation code may be tied to a particular user or groups of users.In another example, the activation code may not be tied to any otherparameter, and therefore, the activation code may be used to enableawards for multiple games, people, tickets, etc.

According to various examples, there are many distribution methods anddistribution formats by which an activation code may be provided to aplayer. A distribution method may be comprised of, but not limited to,print or electronic mediums. Some examples of distribution methods andformats include an alphanumeric password printed on a lottery scratchticket, a code viewed on a web page or received via TXT message or emailor instructions for a series of one or more sequential measurableactivities that must be taken by a player over a period of time. Inaddition, a distribution format may be comprised of, but not limited to,a word, a phrase, a descriptive sentence, alphanumeric codes, asequential or non-sequential set of icons or images, a QR Code or a barcode. For example, a distribution method may be via a lottery scratchticket and the distribution format may be a bar code printed under thegum of the scratch ticket.

According to one aspect, a method is provided for conducting a gamecomprising acts of providing, to a player, an access code, permittingthe player to access play of an online computer-based game using theprovided access code, and providing, to the player, an activation code,wherein the activation code is used to enable an award associated withthe online computer-based game. According to one example, the activationcode is entered by the player in an interface after play of the onlinecomputer-based game to activate the award. According to another example,the access code is a unique identifier used by the player to access theonline computer-based game.

In other examples, the activation code is permitted to be submitted bythe player through a particular channel. For instance, according to oneexample, the activation code is submitted by being scanned by a mobiledevice. In another example, the submission of the activation code by theplayer verifies that the player engaged a game play system through theparticular channel. Further, in this example, the activation codeindicates the channel through which it was distributed. This channelindication may be recognized using a variety of methods includingretrieval of an association between the channel and the activation codestored in a data store separate from the activation code or decryptingall or part of the activation code itself to produce the channel.

According to another example, the activation code can be used by theplayer a predetermined number of times. According to another example,the activation code may be transferred from the player to another playerand may be used by the another player to enable an award associated withanother instance of an online computer-based game. According to anotherexample, the activation code, when entered during play of the onlinecomputer-based game, modifies a parameter of the game.

According to another example, the activation code, when entered by theplayer into an interface of a computer system, modifies an amount of theaward of the online computer-based game. According to another example,the activation code corresponds to a multiplier that is multiplied bythe amount of the award to determine an actual player award amount.According to another example, the multiplier is determined based on theactivation code and player criteria. According to another example, theplayer criteria identifies a category of player in which the player isclassified. According to another example, the award is determined by arandom number generator.

According to at one example, a system for controlling awards comprisinga memory and at least one processor is provided. The system isconfigured to receive an indication that a first player has accessed anonline game, receive an activation code and provide, responsive toreceipt the activation code, an activated award to the first player.

The system may be further configured to provide an interface after playof the online game and to receive the activation code via the interface.The activation code indicates a channel through which the activationcode was distributed. Further, the system may be further configured toprovide other activated awards responsive to receipts of the activationcode up to a predetermined number of receipts. In addition, the systemmay be further configured to receive an indication that a second playerhas accessed the online game, receive the activation code and provide,responsive to receipt the activation code, another activated award tothe second player. Moreover, the system may be further configured tomodify, responsive to receipt of the activation code, a parameter of thegame affecting game play. Furthermore, the system may be furtherconfigured to provide the activated award by modifying an amount of anaward. Additionally, the activation code may indicate a multiplier andthe system is configured to provide the activated award by multiplyingan amount of an award by the multiplier.

In the system, the multiplier may be determined based on the activationcode and criteria associated with the first player. In addition, thecriteria may indicate a category of player in which the first player isclassified. Further, the system may be further configured to determinean award using a random number generator.

According to another example, a computer-implemented method forcontrolling awards is provided. The method includes acts of receiving anindication that a first player has accessed an online game, receiving anactivation code and providing, responsive to receipt the activationcode, an activated award to the first player.

The method may further comprise acts of providing an interface afterplay of the online game and receiving the activation code via theinterface. In addition, the act of receiving the activation code mayinclude an act of receiving an activation code that indicates a channelthrough which the activation code was distributed. The method mayfurther comprise an act of providing other activated awards responsiveto receipts of the activation code up to a predetermined number ofreceipt.

The method may further comprise acts of receiving an indication that asecond player has accessed the online game, receiving the activationcode and providing, responsive to receipt the activation code, anotheractivated award to the second player. Furthermore, the method mayfurther comprise an act of modifying, responsive to receipt of theactivation code, a parameter of the game affecting game play. Moreover,the act of providing the activated award may include an act of modifyingan amount of an award.

According to another example, a non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving computer readable instructions stored thereon is provided. Theinstructions, as a result of being executed by a computer, instruct thecomputer to perform a method for controlling awards. The method includesacts of receiving an indication that a first player has accessed anonline game, receiving an activation code and providing, responsive toreceipt the activation code, an activated award to the first player.Additionally, the instructions may further instruct the computer toperform acts of providing an interface after play of the online game andreceiving the activation code via the interface.

Still other aspects, examples, and advantages of these exemplary aspectsand examples, are discussed in detail below. Moreover, it is to beunderstood that both the foregoing information and the followingdetailed description are merely illustrative examples of various aspectsand examples, and are intended to provide an overview or framework forunderstanding the nature and character of the claimed aspects andexamples. Any example disclosed herein may be combined with any otherexample in any manner consistent with at least one of the objects, aims,and needs disclosed herein, and references to “an example,” “someexamples,” “an alternate example,” “various examples,” “one example,”“at least one example,” “this and other examples” or the like are notnecessarily mutually exclusive and are intended to indicate that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the example may be included in at least one example. Theappearances of such terms herein are not necessarily all referring tothe same example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Various aspects of at least one example are discussed below withreference to the accompanying figures, which are not intended to bedrawn to scale. The figures are included to provide an illustration anda further understanding of the various aspects and examples, and areincorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, but are notintended as a definition of the limits of an particular example. Thedrawings, together with the remainder of the specification, serve toexplain principles and operations of the described and claimed aspectsand examples. In the figures, each identical or nearly identicalcomponent that is illustrated in various figures is represented by alike numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may belabeled in every figure. In the figures:

FIG. 1 is a functional schematic of one example of an award controlsystem;

FIG. 2 is a functional schematic of one example of a computer systemthat may perform processes and functions disclosed herein;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram depicting a process for controlling awardsactivation;

FIG. 4 is another flow diagram illustrating another process forcontrolling awards activation;

FIG. 5 is another flow diagram illustrating another process forcontrolling awards activation;

FIG. 6 is another flow diagram illustrating another process forcontrolling awards activation; and

FIG. 7 another flow diagram illustrating another process for controllingawards activation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects and examples disclosed herein provide game operators withprocesses and apparatus to control distribution of awards to gameplayers. According to some examples, this control is accomplishedthrough use of an activation code. For instance, in one example, acomputer system reveals an award in association with play of an onlinepage. In this example, the award remains until the computer systemreceives an activation code from the game player. Thus, activation codesdo not dictate the outcome of the reveal experience. Instead, activationcodes provide a tracking and control mechanism through which gameoperators may enhance game play, gather information regarding gameplayers and associate game players with particular participationmediums.

According to some examples, players receive activation codes viamultiple distribution methods. For instance, one example provides for adistribution method that involves printing the activation code underlatex on a Lottery scratch ticket. Other examples may distributeactivation codes through any communication medium. Some exemplarydistribution media include direct mail marketing messages, emailmessages, a text messages, web applications, reveals in online games,gaming machine “Ticket In, Ticket Out” (TITO) tickets or even coffeecups.

The particular symbolic manifestation of activation codes varies betweenexamples. For instance, in one example, the activation codes are made upof a series of ‘alpha-numeric’ characters. In another example, theactivation codes consist of a series of icons or pictures, words orphrases. Thus, activation codes are not limited to a particular set ofsymbols or syntax.

Examples of the methods and apparatuses discussed herein are not limitedin application to the details of construction and the arrangement ofcomponents set forth in the following description or illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. The methods and apparatuses are capable ofimplementation in other examples and of being practiced or of beingcarried out in various ways. Examples of specific implementations areprovided herein for illustrative purposes only and are not intended tobe limiting. In particular, acts, components, elements and featuresdiscussed in connection with any one or more examples are not intendedto be excluded from a similar role in any other examples.

Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. Any references toexamples, components, elements or acts of the systems and methods hereinreferred to in the singular may also embrace examples including aplurality, and any references in plural to any example, component,element or act herein may also embrace examples including only asingularity. References in the singular or plural form are not intendedto limit the presently disclosed systems or methods, their components,acts, or elements. The use herein of “including,” “comprising,”“having,” “containing,” “involving,” and variations thereof is meant toencompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well asadditional items. References to “or” may be construed as inclusive sothat any terms described using “or” may indicate any of a single, morethan one, and all of the described terms.

Award Control System

Various examples disclosed herein implement an award control system onone or more computer systems. FIG. 1 illustrates one of these examples,an award control system 100. As shown, the award control system 100includes an award server 102 coupled to a player computer system 106 anda game server 116 via a network 108. The game server 116 is also coupledto a player data store 112. In this example, the award server 102, thegame server 116 and the player data store 112 are implemented usingcomputer systems, such the computer systems discussed further below withreference to FIG. 2. The network 108 may include any communicationnetwork through which computer systems may exchange information. Forexample, the network 108 may be a public network, such as the internet,and may include other public or private networks such as LANs, WANs,extranets and intranets.

As shown, the player computer system 106 is used by a player 104 toaccess components of the game server 116 and the award server 102. Thesecomponents include an award management interface 110 that exchanges(i.e. provides or receives) information with an activation code datastore 114. Together, these components enable the award control system100 to control the activation and distribution of awards to the player104. Each of these components is discussed further below.

Information may flow between these components, or any of the elements,components and subsystems disclosed herein, using a variety oftechniques. Such techniques include, for example, passing theinformation over a network using standard protocols, such as TCP/IP,passing the information between modules in memory and passing theinformation by writing to a file, database, data store, or some othernon-volatile data store device. In addition, pointers or otherreferences to information may be transmitted and received in place of,or in addition to, copies of the information. Conversely, theinformation may be exchanged in place of, or in addition to, pointers orother references to the information. Other techniques and protocols forcommunicating information may be used without departing from the scopeof the examples disclosed herein.

In addition, examples of the award control system 100 may include avariety of hardware and software components configured to perform theprocesses and functions described herein, and examples are not limitedto a particular hardware component, software component or combinationthereof. For instance, according to some examples, the award controlsystem 100 is implemented using a distributed computer system. Anexample of one such distributed computer system is discussed furtherbelow with regard to FIG. 2.

Returning to the particular example illustrated in FIG. 1, the gameserver 116 provides a variety of interfaces through which the gameserver 116 facilitates game play. For instance, the game server 116provides an interface through which the game server 116 exchangesregistration information with external entities, such as the player 104via the player computer 106. This registration information may includeinformation required to setup a player account, information thatindicates a game that the player wishes to play and informationregarding the player's method of entry into the game, such as a wageramount. In some examples, the registration information includes anaccess code that is a unique identifier.

In another example, the registration information include informationrequired for the game server 116 to provide an Alternative Method ofEntry (AMOE). AMOEs are well-known in the art, and are used to eliminatethe consideration element of a game that would otherwise be consideredgambling. Most gaming regulators deem a game as being gambling only ifit involves all three elements of: prize, chance and consideration.Thus, this example allows players to play a game for an award fromjurisdictions in which gambling is illegal.

In addition, the game server 116 provides an interface through which thegame server 116 provides game play to registered players. This game playmay be provided using a wide variety of techniques and architectures andexamples are not limited to a particular game or manner of gameimplementation. For instance, according to one example, the game server116 provides game play using a random number generator withcharacteristics that are determined with reference to player informationthat is stored within the player data store 112. More specifically, inat least one example when providing game play to a player, the gameserver 116 retrieves probability parameters linked to the playercategory to which the player belongs and executes a random numbergenerator using the probability parameters in providing the game play.

The game server 116 also provides an interface through which the gameserver 116 exchanges information with the award server 102. Thisinformation may include registration information, information describingprogress made by players and activation requests and responses which arediscussed further below. In one example, the game server 116 transmits,via the interface to the award server 102, a notification after aplayer, such as the player 104, triggers a game event. Example gameevents include completing registration for a game, beginning play of agame, achieving a milestone within the game, completing a game andwinning an award. Also, in some examples, the game server 116 providesan interface through which the game server 116 exchanges activationinformation with the award server 102.

In some examples, the game server 116 may alter game play based onactivation information. For instance, in one example, the game server116 changes some aspect of the game being played after receiving anactivation code. Exemplary game aspects that may be affected by receiptof an activation code include the odds of winning, rules, themes, andfeatures, such as what player options are available. In one particularexample, responsive to receiving an activation code, the game server 116provides the player playing a conventional Blackjack game with an optionto convert to Spanish Blackjack which has a different set of cards,payouts, and rules than conventional Blackjack.

In other examples, the game server 116 provides an interface throughwhich the game server 116 provides activation codes to players. Theseactivation codes may embody a wide variety of characteristics. Forinstance, in some of these examples, the game server 116 encodes, intothe activation code, an indication of the distribution channel throughwhich the activation code is being provided. According to otherexamples, the game server 116 provides the activation codes before,during and after game play. In one example, the game server 116 providesactivation codes that are tied to particular access codes. In stillanother example, the game server 116 provides activations codes thatencode or indicate the effect that the activation code has on any awardto which it is applied. As is discussed further below, activation codesmay be stratified according to player value and at least one example ofthe game server 116 provides activation codes with specific effects toplayers belong to particular classifications. For instance, in oneexample, the game server 116 provides activation codes associated withparticular multipliers to players based upon a value category to whichthe player belongs.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the award server 102 controls distribution ofawards generated from the game play provided by the game server 116.According to a variety of examples in accord with FIG. 1, the awardmanagement interface 110 receives requests to activate awards andprovides responses to these requests. In these examples, the awardmanagement interface 110 receives requests issued from a wide variety ofrequestors, such as the player 104 or the game server 116. Theserequests may include information used by the award management interface110 to validate the request. This request information may include, amongother information, registration information, game progress informationand activation information. The responses to the activation requestsgenerated by the award management interface 110 include informationindicating whether the activation request is valid and informationindicating the effect of the activation on an award, i.e. the content ofthe activated award. The effects of activating an award vary betweenexamples and include making the award available to the player,increasing the value of the award and altering game play (as discussedabove with reference to the game server 116).

The award management interface 110 may receive requests at various timesrelative to the processing performed by other system components. Forinstance, the award management interface 110 may receive an activationrequest while the game server 116 is providing game play to one playerand may receive another activation request after the game server 116 hasfinished providing game play to another player. Thus, in some examples,the award management interface 110 receives activation requests at anypoint before, during or after a player registers and plays a game viathe game server 116.

Responsive to receiving an activation request, the award managementinterface 110 illustrated in FIG. 1 processes the request using datastored in the activation code data store 114 to ensure the request meetsa particular set of criteria. For instance, in some examples, the awardmanagement interface 110 compares the request information to trustedauthentication information included in the activation code data store114. The authentication information stored in the activation code datastore 114 mirrors the request information received by the awardmanagement interface 110. For instance, in one example, theauthentication information includes a list of valid activation codes andthe award management interface 110 validates activation requests bymatching activation codes included in activation requests to activationcodes stored in the activation code data store 114. In other examples,the authentication information includes a list of valid activation codesand a list of corresponding access codes. In these examples, the awardmanagement interface 110 validates activation requests by matchingordered pairs of activation codes and access codes included in theactivation requests to order pairs of activation codes and access codesstored in the activation code data store 114. In addition, according tosome examples, the award management interface 110 requires that anactivation code be presented with game progress information thatindicates game play has progressed to at a particular point in a game,for example the conclusion of the game. In other examples, the awardmanagement interface 110 requires that an activation code be used toactivate less than a threshold number of previous awards or that theactivation code be used prior to an expiration date. Examples may useany combination of these and other validation criteria and, thus, theexamples discussed herein are not limited to a particular set ofvalidation criteria.

In the event that the award management interface 110 is unable tovalidate a request for any reason, such as, for example, an inability tomatch the activation code in the request to a valid activation code, theaward management interface 110 marks the request as invalid. Conversely,in the event that the award management interface 110 validates therequest, the award management interface 110 marks the request as valid.In either case, the award management interface 110 records the requestinformation and updates activation history information stored in theactivation code data store 114, such as information indicating thenumber of times the activation code has been validly or invalidly usedin an activation request.

After processing the activation request, the award management interface110 generates and transmits a response to the requestor. The responsemay include any information required for the requestor to gain access tothe activated award. Thus, in some examples, the response includesinformation indicating the requestor, the award activated and the effectof the activation. In other examples, the response includes a rejectionand information indicating the reason for the rejection.

The effect of activating a particular award varies between examples. Forinstance, according to one example, activating an award simply causes asystem component, such as a payout component, the game server 116 or theaward server 102, to make the award available for redemption by theplayer. In another example, the award is made available for redemptionby the player at the conclusion of game play and activating the awardcauses a system component to multiply the award by a predeterminedamount, such as 2×, 3×, 4× . . . 10×. In some examples, the awardmanagement interface 110 determines the multiplication factor using avariety of processes including generating the multiplication factorusing a random number generator, retrieving the multiplication factorfrom the activation code data store 114 or decoding the multiplicationfactor from the activation code itself. In at least one example wherethe award management interface 110 retrieves the multiplication factorfrom the activation code data store 114, the award management interface110 uses the activation code or player criteria, such as the player'sAverage Daily Theoretical tier (as discussed further below), to retrievethe multiplication factor. In still another example, activating an awardcauses a system component to both multiply the award and make the awardavailable for redemption. In yet another example, the award managementinterface 110 determines the effect of an activation randomly throughthe use of a random number generator and with reference to a list ofpotential activation effects that is stored in the activation code datastore 114.

The activation code data store 114 depicted in FIG. 1 includescomponents that store and retrieve activation information. In general,this activation information may include any information associated withissued activation codes or requested award activations. Particularexamples of the types of data stored in the activation code data store114 include activation codes, potential effects of activation codes, thedistribution methods (also referred to as “channel”) through whichactivation codes were distributed, expiration dates associated with theactivation codes, access codes associated with the activation codes,game progress required to use activation codes, the effect theactivation codes have on awards activated by the activation codes andaward activation history information such as a number of time thatactivation codes have been validly or invalidly used and the requestorsof award activations.

The player data store 112 shown in FIG. 1 includes components that storeand retrieve player information. In general, this player information mayinclude a wide variety of information regarding players includingdemographic data, play history and associations to which players belong.In at least one example, the player data store 112 includes associationsbetween each player and a player category that is defined by a thresholdthe average daily theoretical loss. The player data store 112 alsoincludes probability parameters for random number generators linked toeach player category. These probably parameters are referenced by thegame server 116 while providing game play to particular players.

Information, including registration data, game progress data andactivation data may be stored on the award server 102 in any logicalconstruction capable of storing information on a computer readablemedium including, among other structures, flat files, indexed files,hierarchical databases, relational databases or object orienteddatabases. The data may be modeled using unique and foreign keyrelationships and indexes. The unique and foreign key relationships andindexes may be established between the various fields and tables toensure both data integrity and data interchange performance.

The interfaces disclosed herein, which include both system interfacesand user interfaces, exchange information with various providers andconsumers. These providers and consumers may include any external entityincluding, among other entities, users and systems. Each of theinterfaces disclosed herein may both restrict input to a predefined setof values and validate any information entered prior to using theinformation or providing the information to other components.Additionally, each of the interfaces disclosed herein may validate theidentity of an external entity prior to, or during, interaction with theexternal entity. These functions may prevent the introduction oferroneous data into the award control system 100 or unauthorized accessto the award control system 100.

Computer System

As discussed above with regard to FIG. 1, various aspects and functionsdescribed herein may be implemented as specialized hardware or softwarecomponents executing in one or more computer systems. There are manyexamples of computer systems that are currently in use. These examplesinclude, among others, network appliances, personal computers,workstations, mainframes, networked clients, servers, media servers,application servers, database servers and web servers. Other examples ofcomputer systems may include mobile computing devices, such as cellularphones and personal digital assistants, and network equipment, such asload balancers, routers and switches. Further, aspects may be located ona single computer system or may be distributed among a plurality ofcomputer systems connected to one or more communications networks.

For example, various aspects and functions may be distributed among oneor more computer systems configured to provide a service to one or moreclient computers, or to perform an overall task as part of a distributedsystem. Additionally, aspects may be performed on a client-server ormulti-tier system that includes components distributed among one or moreserver systems that perform various functions. Consequently, examplesare not limited to executing on any particular system or group ofsystems. Further, aspects and functions may be implemented in software,hardware or firmware, or any combination thereof. Thus, aspects andfunctions may be implemented within methods, acts, systems, systemelements and components using a variety of hardware and softwareconfigurations, and examples are not limited to any particulardistributed architecture, network, or communication protocol.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a functional schematic of adistributed computer system 200, in which various aspects and functionsare practiced. As shown, the distributed computer system 200 includesone more computer systems that exchange information. More specifically,the distributed computer system 200 includes computer systems 202, 204and 206. As shown, the computer systems 202, 204 and 206 areinterconnected by, and may exchange data through, a communicationnetwork 208. The network 208 may include any communication networkthrough which computer systems may exchange data. To exchange data usingthe network 208, the computer systems 202, 204 and 206 and the network208 may use various methods, protocols and standards, including, amongothers, Fibre Channel, Token Ring, Ethernet, Wireless Ethernet,Bluetooth, IP, IPV6, TCP/IP, UDP, DTN, HTTP, FTP, SNMP, SMS, MMS, SS7,JSON, SOAP, CORBA, REST and Web Services. To ensure data transfer issecure, the computer systems 202, 204 and 206 may transmit data via thenetwork 208 using a variety of security measures including, for example,TSL, SSL or VPN. While the distributed computer system 200 illustratesthree networked computer systems, the distributed computer system 200 isnot so limited and may include any number of computer systems andcomputing devices, networked using any medium and communicationprotocol.

FIG. 2 illustrates a particular example of a distributed computer system200 that includes computer system 202, 204 and 206. As illustrated inFIG. 2, the computer system 202 includes a processor 210, a memory 212,a bus 214, an interface 216 and data storage 218. To implement at leastsome of the aspects, functions and processes disclosed herein, theprocessor 210 performs a series of instructions that result inmanipulated data. The processor 210 may be any type of processor,multiprocessor or controller. Some exemplary processors includecommercially available processors such as an Intel Xeon, Itanium, Core,Celeron, Pentium, AMD Opteron, Sun UltraSPARC, IBM Power5+ and IBMmainframe chip. The processor 210 is connected to other systemcomponents, including one or more memory devices 212, by the bus 214.

The memory 212 stores programs and data during operation of the computersystem 202. Thus, the memory 212 may be a relatively high performance,volatile, random access memory such as a dynamic random access memory(DRAM) or static memory (SRAM). However, the memory 212 may include anydevice for storing data, such as a disk drive or other non-volatilestorage device. Various examples may organize the memory 212 intoparticularized and, in some cases, unique structures to perform thefunctions disclosed herein. These data structures may be sized andorganized to store values for particular data and types of data.

Components of the computer system 202 are coupled by an interconnectionelement such as the bus 214. The bus 214 may include one or morephysical busses, for example, busses between components that areintegrated within a same machine, but may include any communicationcoupling between system elements including specialized or standardcomputing bus technologies such as IDE, SCSI, PCI and InfiniBand. Thus,the bus 214 enables communications, such as data and instructions, to beexchanged between system components of the computer system 202.

The computer system 202 also includes one or more interface devices 216such as input devices, output devices and combination input/outputdevices. Interface devices may receive input or provide output. Moreparticularly, output devices may render information for externalpresentation. Input devices may accept information from externalsources. Examples of interface devices include keyboards, mouse devices,trackballs, microphones, touch screens, printing devices, displayscreens, speakers, network interface cards, etc. Interface devices allowthe computer system 202 to exchange information and communicate withexternal entities, such as users and other systems.

The data storage 218 includes a computer readable and writeablenonvolatile (non-transitory) data storage medium in which instructionsare stored that define a program or other object that is executed by theprocessor 210. The data storage 218 also may include information that isrecorded, on or in, the medium, and that is processed by the processor210 during execution of the program. More specifically, the informationmay be stored in one or more data structures specifically configured toconserve storage space or increase data exchange performance. Theinstructions may be persistently stored as encoded signals, and theinstructions may cause the processor 210 to perform any of the functionsdescribed herein. The medium may, for example, be optical disk, magneticdisk or flash memory, among others. In operation, the processor 210 orsome other controller causes data to be read from the nonvolatilerecording medium into another memory, such as the memory 212, thatallows for faster access to the information by the processor 210 thandoes the storage medium included in the data storage 218. The memory maybe located in the data storage 218 or in the memory 212, however, theprocessor 210 manipulates the data within the memory, and then copiesthe data to the storage medium associated with the data storage 218after processing is completed. A variety of components may manage datamovement between the storage medium and other memory elements andexamples are not limited to particular data management components.Further, examples are not limited to a particular memory system or datastorage system.

Although the computer system 202 is shown by way of example as one typeof computer system upon which various aspects and functions may bepracticed, aspects and functions are not limited to being implemented onthe computer system 202 as shown in FIG. 2. Various aspects andfunctions may be practiced on one or more computers having a differentarchitectures or components than that shown in FIG. 2. For instance, thecomputer system 202 may include specially programmed, special-purposehardware, such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)tailored to perform a particular operation disclosed herein. Whileanother example may perform the same function using a grid of severalgeneral-purpose computing devices running MAC OS System X with MotorolaPowerPC processors and several specialized computing devices runningproprietary hardware and operating systems.

The computer system 202 may be a computer system including an operatingsystem that manages at least a portion of the hardware elements includedin the computer system 202. In some examples, a processor or controller,such as the processor 210, executes an operating system. Examples of aparticular operating system that may be executed include a Windows-basedoperating system, such as, Windows NT, Windows 2000 (Windows ME),Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 operating systems, available fromthe Microsoft Corporation, a MAC OS System X operating system availablefrom Apple Computer, one of many Linux-based operating systemdistributions, for example, the Enterprise Linux operating systemavailable from Red Hat Inc., a Solaris operating system available fromSun Microsystems, or a UNIX operating systems available from varioussources. Many other operating systems may be used, and examples are notlimited to any particular operating system.

The processor 210 and operating system together define a computerplatform for which application programs in high-level programminglanguages are written. These component applications may be executable,intermediate, bytecode or interpreted code which communicates over acommunication network, for example, the Internet, using a communicationprotocol, for example, TCP/IP. Similarly, aspects may be implementedusing an object-oriented programming language, such as .Net, SmallTalk,Java, C++, Ada, or C# (C-Sharp). Other object-oriented programminglanguages may also be used. Alternatively, functional, scripting, orlogical programming languages may be used.

Additionally, various aspects and functions may be implemented in anon-programmed environment, for example, documents created in HTML, XMLor other format that, when viewed in a window of a browser program,render aspects of a graphical-user interface or perform other functions.Further, various examples may be implemented as programmed ornon-programmed elements, or any combination thereof. For example, a webpage may be implemented using HTML while a data object called fromwithin the web page may be written in C++. Thus, the examples are notlimited to a specific programming language and any suitable programminglanguage could be used. Thus, the functional components disclosed hereinmay include a wide variety of elements, e.g. specialized hardware,executable code, data structures or objects, that are configured toperform the functions described herein.

In some examples, the components disclosed herein may read parametersthat affect the functions performed by the components. These parametersmay be physically stored in any form of suitable memory includingvolatile memory (such as RAM) or nonvolatile memory (such as a magnetichard drive). In addition, the parameters may be logically stored in apropriety data structure (such as a database or file defined by a usermode application) or in a commonly shared data structure (such as anapplication registry that is defined by an operating system). Inaddition, some examples provide for both system and user interfaces thatallow external entities to modify the parameters and thereby configurethe behavior of the components.

Activation Processes

Some examples perform a process for controlling award activation. Oneexample of such a process is illustrated in FIG. 3. According to thisexample, process 300 includes acts of receiving a notification that agame was accessed, receiving an activation code and providing anactivated award. Process 300 begins at 302.

In act 304, a notification that a game has been accessed is received. Inone example, a computer system, such as the award server 102 describedabove with regard to FIG. 1, receives the notification from an externalentity, such as the game server 116. In this example, the notificationindicates that the game has been access by a player, such as the player104.

In act 306, an activation code is received. In at least one example, theaward management interface 110 receives the activation code from theplayer 104 via one or more user interface components provided by theaward management interface 110. According to this example, theactivation code is included within a request to activate an award won bythe player 104.

In act 308, an activated award is provided. In one example, the awardmanagement interface 110 provides the activated award to the player 104.In another example, the award management interface 110 provides theactivated award to the game server 116 which, in turn, provides theactivated award to the player 104.

Process 300 ends at 310. Activation processes in accord with the process300 provide game operators with the ability to create more engaging gameplay experiences and control the distribution of awards via one or morecomputer systems. In addition, activation processes such as the process300 facilitate tracking of player activity which provides insight intoplayer preferences.

A more particularized example of an award activation process, process400, is illustrated with reference to FIG. 4. The process 400 begins at402. In act 404, a player visits a website that includes an awardcontrol system, such as the award control system 100, using a browser.During act 406, the player completes a registration process in which theplayer provides registration information to the website via the browser.Then, the player logs into the website using credentials created duringthe registration process in act 408. Also in act 408, the player wagerssome amount of currency and selects a game to play.

In act 410, the website uses a random number generator 414 and a tableof awards 412 to randomly determine an award for the player. The playerplays the game to reveal the award in act 416. During act 418, theplayer enters an activation code into the website to activate and redeemthe award. In act 420, the website provides the activated award to theplayer and the process ends at 422.

Another specific example of an award activation process, process 500, isillustrated with reference to FIG. 5. The process 500 begins at 502. Inact 504, a player visits a website that includes an award controlsystem, such as the award control system 100, using a browser. Duringact 506, the player completes a registration process in which the playerprovides registration information to the website via the browser. Then,the player logs into the website using credentials created during theregistration process in act 508. Also in act 508, the player wagers someamount of currency and selects a game to play.

In act 510, the website uses a random number generator 514 and a tableof awards 512 to randomly determine an award for the player. The playerplays the game to reveal the award in act 516. During act 518, theplayer enters an activation code into the website to activate and redeemthe award. In act 520, the website uses another random number generator522 and a table of activation effects 524 to randomly determine anactivation effect to apply to the award in act 526. In act 528, thewebsite provides the activated award to the player and the process endsat 530.

Another detailed example of an award activation process, process 600, isillustrated with reference to FIG. 6. The process 600 begins at 602. Inact 604, a player visits a website that includes an award controlsystem, such as the award control system 100, using a browser. Duringact 606, the player completes a registration process in which the playerprovides registration information to the website via the browser. Then,the player logs into the website using credentials created during theregistration process in act 608. Also in act 608, the player wagers someamount of currency and selects a game to play. Meanwhile, in act 632,another player enters the same game via an AMOE.

In act 610, the website uses a random number generator 614 and a tableof awards 612 to randomly determine an award for one or both of theplayers. The players play the game to reveal the award in act 616.During act 618, the winning player or players enter activation codesinto the website to activate and redeem the award. In act 620, thewebsite provides the activated award to the winning player or playersand the process ends at 622.

Another specific example of an award activation process, process 700, isillustrated with reference to FIG. 7. The process 700 begins at 702. Inact 704, a player visits a website that includes an award controlsystem, such as the award control system 100, using a browser. Duringact 706, the player completes a registration process in which the playerprovides registration information to the website via the browser. Then,the player logs into the website using credentials created during theregistration process in act 708. Also in act 708, the player wagers someamount of currency and selects a game to play. Meanwhile, in act 732,another player enters the same game via an AMOE.

In act 710, the website uses a random number generator 714 and a tableof awards 712 to randomly determine an award for one or both of theplayers. The players play the game to reveal the award in act 716.During act 718, the winning player or players enter activation codesinto the website to activate and redeem the award. In act 720, thewebsite uses another random number generator 722 and a table ofactivation effects 724 to randomly determine an activation effect toapply to the award in act 726. In act 728, the website provides theactivated award to the winning player or players and the process ends at730.

Processes 300 through 700 each depict one particular sequence of acts ina particular example. The acts included in these processes may beperformed by, or using, one or more computer systems speciallyconfigured as discussed herein. Some acts are optional and, as such, maybe omitted in accord with one or more examples. Additionally, the orderof acts can be altered, or other acts can be added, without departingfrom the scope of the systems and methods discussed herein. Furthermore,as discussed above, in at least one example, the acts are performed on aparticular, specially configured machine, namely a computer systemconfigured according to the examples disclosed herein.

Usage Scenarios

The systems and methods described herein may be utilized by gameoperators to provide a variety of gaming experiences. For instance,according to one example, a player, such as the player 104 discussedabove with reference to FIG. 1, is provided only one opportunity to playa game to receive his award. In this example, the player supplies aunique identifier, such as an access code, to a game server to play agame. In addition, in this example, the player is required, by the awardmanagement interface 110, to use the activation code at the conclusionof that game to access any award won. Also, in this example, theactivation code is initially tied to the unique identifier within theactivation code data store such that only one player could use theactivation code. In an alternative example, the activation code is nottied to the unique identifier. According to this example, the activationcode may be passed on from one player to another and each time theactivation code is used, a record of the activation and the playerrequesting the activation is stored in the activation code data store114 by the award management interface 110, thus providing a referralcomponent to the activation code.

In another example, a player is allowed to choose when they use theactivation code. According to this example, the player completes theplay of the game provided by the game server 116, but is only awarded anominally valued award. He may choose not to use the activation code forthis game play and wait for another opportunity to play. This example iswell suited for a promotional game that allows for playing the game atregular time intervals or achievement points. Alternatively, some gamingoperators conduct promotional games where you are allowed to play once(and only once) every day. In these cases, the awards generally have ashort expiration window where they need to be redeemed at the gamingestablishment. In this example, the player could play every day andactivate the award using the award server 102 when the award is mostbeneficial (e.g. when the award has a large monetary value or when theredemption period coincides with a trip to the gaming establishment).

In other examples, one or more players validly use the activation codemultiple times. In one such example, all activation codes can be usedfor a set number of activations. After that set number of activations,the activation code becomes invalid. In another of these examples, theactivation code has an expiration date. The expiration date may be inaddition to the set number of activations—for example, the player needsto use all five activations in the next 30 days. It should beappreciated that allowing a player to have multiple activations from asingle activation code enhances the experience and makes the player moreengaged with the gaming operator.

In another example, the activation code has functionality beyond theverification and activation of the award. In one example, the activationcode acts both to activate the award and as a multiplying factor for theamount won. In another example, the activation code is not required toredeem the award. In this example, the code is used solely as amultiplier for the win amount. As an example, players that have anactivation code and enter the code at the end of the player experience,once the award is revealed, randomly receive 2×, 3×, 4× . . . 10× theaward. If the activation code is not used, the player is able to redeemthe award at the base value. If the activation code is used, the playeris able to redeem the award at the multiplied value. In another example,the activation code, when used as a multiplier, has a predeterminedmultiplication factor based on player criteria. In one exampleimplementation, players may be separated into categories wherein eachcategory may receive a different activation code and resultingmultiplier which is different in value from a parameter offered topersons in another category.

In one example, the player data store 112 stores player information infive categories based upon historical play levels of each player. Thehighest tier, Tier 1, contains players with an average daily theoreticalloss, also known as Average Daily Theoretical or ADT, of at least$2,000. Tier 2 includes persons with an ADT of at least $1,200, whileTier 5 contains those persons with an ADT of at least $200. Tiers arenot populated equally in this example, because far more persons reachthe $200 ADT level than the number that reaches an ADT of $2,000. Theelectronic games for all 5 tiers have possible outcomes of $100, $50,$25 and $0 with the likelihood of winning each specific award being thesame for each tier. Differentiation of award by tier is then achieved bythe predetermined multiplier associated with an activation code. Itshould be appreciated that, according to one aspect, any number oftiers, and any number of persons per tier, and assignment of any numbermultiplying factors and activation codes may be used.

According to another example, the game server 116 determines each gameoutcome using a random number generator, as is well-known to those ofskill in the art, that is selected as each game is played in accordancewith the probabilities specified in parameters for the player's assignedcategory. One benefit arises from the fact that the awards for playerscan be differentiated, in aggregate, based on the tier (value) of theplayer. In this way, the random nature of the award is then convertedinto a partially predetermined outcome, and, in aggregate, providesgreater awards to higher value players. Thus, the activation codes maybe used to distinguish among classes of players that play the same game,but provide modified outcomes according to their player class.

In another example, the game server 116 requires that an activation codebe used at some point during game play. In this example, the player maychoose to continue the game play either “for award” or “just for fun.”It is appreciated that the addition of this decision point into the gameenhances the excitement of the game. In another example, a “Let's Make ADeal” moment may be introduced into the game—“activate now and the gameis over with your winnings equal to your current award balancemultiplied by some factor, or continue to play and see your final award(without multiplication).” Thus, the game play experience can beincreased by the use of activation codes.

In one example, the game server 116 allows players to participate usingAMOE by filling out and mailing in a postcard. According to thisexample, the registration information included in the postcard wouldthen be entered into the game server 116 and the award control system100 as both game play registration and activation, resulting in anactivated award provided to the player based solely on the chance ofoutcome. In another example, this AMOE component is implemented in theform of an electronic registration path via registration informationinterface discussed above with reference to FIG. 1. This allows the AMOEplayer to still play the games against wagering and non-wageringplayers, but without a purchase (wager) necessary to participate. Inanother example, a post card submission would result in the delivery ofan activation code to the submitter, via some preferred channel, such asmail, email, SMS, etc.

Having thus described several aspects of at least one example, it is tobe appreciated that various alterations, modifications, and improvementswill readily occur to those skilled in the art. For instance, while thebulk of the specification discusses use of activation codes in thegaming industry, examples disclosed herein may also be used in othercontexts such as to control distribution of rewards in the otherindustries, such as the credit card industry. Such alterations,modifications, and improvements are intended to be part of thisdisclosure, and are intended to be within the scope of the examplesdiscussed herein. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawingsare by way of example only.

1. A system for controlling awards, the system comprising a memory andat least one processor and being configured to: receive an indicationthat a first player has accessed an online game; receive an activationcode; and provide, responsive to receipt the activation code, anactivated award to the first player.
 2. The system according to claim 1,wherein the system is further configured to provide an interface afterplay of the online game and configured to receive the activation codevia the interface.
 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein theactivation code indicates a channel through which the activation codewas distributed.
 4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the systemis further configured to provide other activated awards responsive toreceipts of the activation code up to a predetermined number ofreceipts.
 5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the system isfurther configured to: receive an indication that a second player hasaccessed the online game; receive the activation code; and provide,responsive to receipt the activation code, another activated award tothe second player.
 6. The system according to claim 1, wherein thesystem is further configured to modify, responsive to receipt of theactivation code, a parameter of the game affecting game play.
 7. Thesystem according to claim 1, wherein the system is configured to providethe activated award by modifying an amount of an award.
 8. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the activation code indicates a multiplierand the system is configured to provide the activated award bymultiplying an amount of an award by the multiplier.
 9. The systemaccording to claim 8, wherein the multiplier is determined based on theactivation code and criteria associated with the first player.
 10. Thesystem according to claim 9, wherein the criteria indicates a categoryof player in which the first player is classified.
 11. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the system is further configured todetermine an award using a random number generator.
 12. Acomputer-implemented method for controlling awards, the methodcomprising: receiving an indication that a first player has accessed anonline game; receiving an activation code; and providing, responsive toreceipt the activation code, an activated award to the first player. 13.The method according to claim 12, further comprising: providing aninterface after play of the online game; and receiving the activationcode via the interface.
 14. The method according to claim 12, whereinreceiving the activation code includes receiving an activation code thatindicates a channel through which the activation code was distributed.15. The method according to claim 12, further comprising providing otheractivated awards responsive to receipts of the activation code up to apredetermined number of receipts.
 16. The method according to claim 12,further comprising: receiving an indication that a second player hasaccessed the online game; receiving the activation code; and providing,responsive to receipt the activation code, another activated award tothe second player.
 17. The method according to claim 12, furthercomprising modifying, responsive to receipt of the activation code, aparameter of the game affecting game play.
 18. The method according toclaim 12, wherein providing the activated award includes modifying anamount of an award.
 19. A non-transitory computer readable medium havingcomputer readable instructions stored thereon that, as a result of beingexecuted by a computer, instruct the computer to perform a method forcontrolling awards, the method comprising: receiving an indication thata first player has accessed an online game; receiving an activationcode; and providing, responsive to receipt the activation code, anactivated award to the first player.
 20. The computer readable mediumaccording to claim 19, wherein the instructions further instruct thecomputer to perform acts of: providing an interface after play of theonline game; and receiving the activation code via the interface.